The Art of Deception

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The art of deception is known to lie in various places: superheroes, lies, appearances, and within one's self. It is very well known by everyone. It holds a common ground for a complex characters, and an unknown yet unnecessary piecework for characters of a simple, static nature. To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is about a small girl named Scout who finds herself in the midst of racism and deception. The novel as well as reality is sporadic about usage of deception. A certain contradistinction defines the collective population. Therefore, synchronization of people is uncommon. This disarray of people is played in a convincing portrayal of characters in the novel. Harper Lee's characters, who are both fallacious in appearance or have a forthright portrayal, reveal her contemplation of deception.
To begin, fallacious appearances of Boo Radley and Dolphus Raymond demonstrate how one can never truly know somebody until meeting him or her. This being so, Boo Radley's rumoured appearance and his true self display Lee's negativism of deception. From the starting moments, Jem, Scout, and Dill all have a lingering fear and distress toward Boo. This unease attaches itself onto the kids for the remainder of the book. This distress is caused by false rumours spread throughout the town that leave the children into belief of deception of the townspeople, which include Boo Radley. It is only in the final pages of the book that Scout finds out who Boo truly is. As Scout says, "they didn't know what he looked like...when they finally saw him, why he hadn't done any of those things...he was real nice" (Lee, 376). This deception hides truth from reaching the light. Boo Radley truly is the hero, for he saves Jem and Scout from murder. Oth...

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...Bob Ewell, these two characters hint at one side of Lee's contemplation.
These characters are not all in Lee's work; they along with others join forces to create Lee's tone of contemplation toward deceptive appearances. A negativism of deception appears through the inevitable rumors of certain characters. However, deception can also appear as a unnecessary trait in a character's portrayal. Lee sees this, and she uses it for a fictitious novel that illustrate the cold, hard truth of reality. The example of the most simple deception is a liar. However, the truth could be much more deceiving. Self-deception of a mind of wishful thinking could go a long way in a positive outlook. There are many sides to deception, but to be educated in such an art can lead into benefit or detriment.

Works Cited

Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird. New York: Warner Books, 1982. Print.

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